In the manufacture of wall and floor coverings, it is sometimes desirable to impart a textured surface thereto in the form of a decorative embossing. One method of attaining such decorative embossing is to employ an embossing roll, usually made of metal, to transfer the desired pattern or texture to the substrate material.
When a metal embossing roll is utilized, there are several methods of imparting the desired design or texture onto the roll. For example, the pattern or texture can be cut into the outer surface of the roll using a machine process (such as die-and-mill) or a chemical process (such as photoetching). Any process, including the two mentioned, which cuts into the outer surface of the embossing roll, is extremely expensive and time consuming. Skilled technicians must be employed to execute the numerous stages required to prepare the roll, which can take months to complete.
Further, such a process is also time consuming and expensive to reverse, making it difficult to reuse the embossing roll. Making a previously cut or etched embossing roll ready for reuse involves either "turning down" the roll (i.e., shaving away the outer surface until the cut areas are eliminated and the outer surface is smooth) or adding material to the roll, so that the cut areas are filled. If the embossing roll is turned down, enough of the roll will eventually be trimmed away so that it will become impossible to reuse the roll. If the previously cut areas are filled in, it is sometimes difficult to achieve the smooth outer surface necessary for subsequent cutting or etching operations.